Sailing

Sailing Captures Hoyt Trophy

Oct 22, 2012

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Competing against several of the top sailing teams from around the country, nationally-ranked No. 13 MIT won the Hoyt Trophy while the women's squad secured sixth place at the Stu Nelson Trophy. The Engineers rounded out the weekend by placing 14th at the Oberg Trophy.

Seniors Philip Crain (Houston, Texas) and Steven Drapcho (Newtown, Pa.) won the B Division of the Hoyt Trophy courtesy of seven top-five finishes in 12 rounds of action. The duo clinched first place in four outings, was the runner-up in the second race, and finished third in the third and seventh rotations. Seniors Andrew Sommer (Duxbury, Mass.) and Kelden Pehr (Seabrook, Texas) along with freshman Christopher Ford (Millbrae, Calif.) capitalized on 10 top-10 performances to rank fourth in the A Division, highlighted by a victory in the 10th round and a trio of third-place finishes.

The Engineers racked up 139 points for the victory, followed by No. 2 Yale (153) and No. 6 Roger Williams University (157), which led the 18-team field at the conclusion of the first day of action.

Junior Hanna Vincent (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and senior Taylor Burfield (Naples, Fla.) collaborated for a sixth-place finish in the B Division of the Stu Nelson Trophy. The pair racked up 13 top-10 placements through 18 rounds and entered the top five on six occasions, including back-to-back runner-up performances in the second and third races. In the A Division, sophomore Chloe Lepert (Belmont, Calif.), Brooke Winslow, and junior Keren Gu (Bowie, Md.) also had 13 top-10 finishes en route to eighth place in the final standings. The trio won the second round, was the runner-up in its next outing, and then captured the seventh spot five times.

The Stu Nelson Trophy was originally the Powder Puff Trophy, which was the first women's competition in college sailing. It was later named after former MIT women's coach Stu Nelson, who served in that post for 39 years. The first full-time women's coach in the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association, he was an advocate for women's sailing at the regional and national levels.

At the Oberg Trophy, sophomores Laura Dunphy (Bowie, Md.) and Priyanka Chatterjee (Columbus, Ga.) secured 13th place in the B Division behind the strength of nine top-10 rankings out of 15 races. The tandem was second in the fifth round, third in the second and eighth rotations, and sixth in the ninth and 11th outings. Freshman Rosalind Lesh (Everson, Wash.) and senior Eben Freeman (Zurich, Switzerland) capitalized on six top-10 performances to rank 14th in the A Division as they clinched fifth place in the first and sixth races. A pair of 10th-place finishes helped freshman William Livernois (Newman, Ga.) and sophomore Samantha Albright (Madison, Conn.) secure 15th place in the C Division.

Up next for MIT will be the Erwin Schell Trophy, Victorian Coffee Urn, and Nickerson Trophy slated for this weekend.